Tesla 3 isn't perfect, but after a full day rental this BMW driver is buying one!

[EV-lutioin]

I have a 2010 BMW 3 Series and it just sits in my driveway (anyone want to buy it?) because my Model 3 is like a flying "Silver seed to a new home in the sun" and the BMW... feels like a farm tractor in comparison. I'm sure the 2018 BMW is more refined than my 2010... so it's probably not a fair comparison. As for the card-fob in the Model 3, I have never used it since the first day, the phone app works perfectly so you would probably never use the card except when you hand over your Model 3 for valet or service.

 

[voip-ninja]

voip-ninja, Your review is more interesting to me than many others because I have noticed that you are skeptical of many things Tesla and you've been "here" a long time. Nicely done.

Thanks.

I set my phone in the docking area, and when I want it to do something, I just say “Hey Siri” out loud. No button pushing required, works great.

Good tip, I don't use "hey Siri" because my son's name starts with an S and Siri often thinks I'm talking to it when I talk to him.

Just wondering what specific materials you find lacking on the 3 or better on the BMW? Steering wheel plastic? Dash? Some people like a more ornamented/baroque style and equate that with luxury. I'm more in the elegant simplicity camp. Just trying to sort out stylistic preferences from the quality of the materials themselves. I haven't gotten to sit in a Model 3 yet, but pulled the trigger anyway.

A Camry or Accord has a basic utilitarian interior too. The BMW has nicer materials all around. It has aluminum inlay around window switches, it has multiple colors that make up the dash surface, it has nicer wood or aluminum everywhere. It is simply higher end in pretty much every area when it comes to material quality. The door inserts on the Model 3 felt cheap, the wheel was a great size & shape but was a little bit rock hard compared to the soft grip M-sport wheel on my 340i.

I have friends who drive Korean cars and they think the BMW is "gaudy". Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Objectively, there's no question that BMW/Audi/Merc spend more on the materials in their car than Tesla does when comparing similar German cars in the $50K+ range to to the 3.

 

[Ejl80]

I will say that using the center screen on the Model 3 was more enjoyable than I had thought it would be and I adapted to it very quickly, while still pining for just a few things that would make the overall experience superior and would have cost Tesla very little money.

I agree. I will miss some things about my 340 very much. I hate to say it, but even the iDrive wheel is very convenient compared to almost every car I've ever driven. I will also miss the kick open trunk.

I set my phone in the docking area, and when I want it to do something, I just say “Hey Siri” out loud. No button pushing required, works great.

I disable Siri completely when the phone is locked. Many of the security vulnerabilities that have cropped up relate to Siri when the phone is locked.

Just wondering what specific materials you find lacking on the 3 or better on the BMW? Steering wheel plastic? Dash? Some people like a more ornamented/baroque style and equate that with luxury. I'm more in the elegant simplicity camp. Just trying to sort out stylistic preferences from the quality of the materials themselves. I haven't gotten to sit in a Model 3 yet, but pulled the trigger anyway.

I don't have my 3 yet, but have sat in one at the local Tesla store. Compared to my 340 I've felt these parts felt cheap:

1. Steering wheel and steering wheel controls
2. Logo on the wheel
3. Dashboard and center console materials
4. Seating and seating controls
5. Door handles
6. All the trim. The coverings on the seat controls. Plastic trim in the trunk. The seat backings, etc.

All that being said... I can't wait to get my 3.

 

[voip-ninja]

I actually want to add one more small point.

I've been interested in Tesla since they debuted their roadster. However I've never been an enthusiastic fan. I would even say I wasn't overly excited about the rental, since I'd sat in a car at the Cherry Creek mall and wasn't completely blown away with it.

I am now genuinely enthusiastic and excited for when I have my own Model 3 sitting in my driveway.

 

[Ejl80]

I actually want to add one more small point.

I've been interested in Tesla since they debuted their roadster. However I've never been an enthusiastic fan. I would even say I wasn't overly excited about the rental, since I'd sat in a car at the Cherry Creek mall and wasn't completely blown away with it.

I am now genuinely enthusiastic and excited for when I have my own Model 3 sitting in my driveway.

Can you describe the acceleration and handling differences between the 340 and the model 3? What tires are on your 340 and were on the model 3? Thats the only thing I'm worried about missing on the model 3... probably the first thing I'll do is put Pilot 4S on the car and ditch the LRR tires.

 

[suwaneedad]

OP, your review makes it clear why BMW 3-series market share is tanking as Model 3's rises. What's interesting to me is that as a former 2002 BMW535 owner, I find the interior of my Model 3 to feel as large/roomy as my 535 did so it's odd to me that Model 3 is compared to 3-series rather than 5-series. I suppose on exterior dimensions, but to me interior is what counts.

 

[voip-ninja]

Can you describe the acceleration and handling differences between the 340 and the model 3? What tires are on your 340 and were on the model 3? Thats the only thing I'm worried about missing on the model 3... probably the first thing I'll do is put Pilot 4S on the car and ditch the LRR tires.

The 340xi is a little bit faster off of the line and up to perhaps 20-30 miles per hour. Part of that is likely due to the AWD since I know that the AWD version of the 340i is faster off the line (but slower to the 1/4 mile) than the RWD car.

At anything over 25/30 mph or so the Tesla is very noticeably faster. Honestly it would not surprise me if it was borderline Corvette fast between say 30-70mph. It feels like a rocket ship when you get on it and you're already underway.

With the extra speed of the dual motor version and possible further software enhancements to the speed I'm quite excited by the performance potential.... and if I had the budget I would definitely be getting the performance dual motor version.

As far as the handling goes, with the Model 3 I much more feel like I'm piloting a far smaller and more nimble car, my wife compared it to a luxury go-kart and I have to agree that's what it's like. By comparison my BMW handles like a sled... it is much more sluggish around corners and the turn-in is not as immediate as it is with the Tesla.

The tires on both cars are factory equipment... so, Pirelli all seasons on the BMW and the all season Michelins on the Tesla.

OP, your review makes it clear why BMW 3-series market share is tanking as Model 3's rises. What's interesting to me is that as a former 2002 BMW535 owner, I find the interior of my Model 3 to feel as large/roomy as my 535 did so it's odd to me that Model 3 is compared to 3-series rather than 5-series. I suppose on exterior dimensions, but to me interior is what counts.

BMW vehicle proportions have changed dramatically just like every other automaker. Sit in a Toyota Camry from 2002 and compare it to a 2018 version and you'll see what I mean.

FWIW, my F30 generation BMW 3 series has almost exactly the same interior space as a 2 generations ago BMW 5 series.

 

[Pollux]

I hear this a lot from reviewers too, but my immediate response is always the same... you shouldn't be adjusting your mirrors while you're driving. It's unsafe in any vehicle and you're supposed to have adjusted that before the car is in motion since while you are adjusting the mirror you're looking at the mirror and not the road regardless of how you got to the controls.

The only time I've personally ever adjusted the mirrors while driving in any car was because some bright reflection was in my eye. It probably would have been no big deal for me personally to hit two buttons on a screen and use a scroll wheel to adjust the mirror a few degrees up or down to get the reflection out of my eyes. One might argue not having to look at controls at all would be easier, but meh, it's such a rare occurrence I don't think it justifies the added manufacturing complexity.

You may be right in theory and in terms of the safest approach; but in practice, I think many people (myself included) adjust their mirrors on the fly. That's in part because I notice when I'm actually driving whether something isn't quite right with the mirrors and it's easiest to adjust against what I'm looking at rather than pull over; adjust; pull back into traffic; notice it's not quite right; rinse; repeat.

Alan

 

[bpjod]

I too had my first Model 3 experience with a Turo rental. Mine was VIN 4XXX, but my personal Model 3 is VIN 29XXX. The seats are much improved. The earlier seats were too narrow across the shoulders and the rear seat was too low to the floor. Both issues have been rectified in mine. While the Model 3 may have fewer seat controls, I find it's seats to be the most comfortable I've ever sat in, so frankly, no more seat controls are needed (for me). What VIN was your rental?

The interior fit and finish is highly subjective. I happen to like the interior, and the longer I own it, the more I come to appreciate it. Give it time.

On the rental, I couldn't get my iPhone 6 in a case to connect with the dock connector either. In my personal car I can get it to connect. It just took a little more finesse and force than I was willing to experiment with on someone else's car. I have to hold the phone at a bit of an angle and use a bit of force to get the Lightning Connector to make a positive connection, but now I have no problems doing so. There are solutions for inductive charging too (search the forums here) and when I get a phone capable of that I'll likely pursue one of those options as that admittedly that would be even simpler.

As for the mirrors, once you set your seat, mirrors and steering wheel to your liking, save your profile and you never have to adjust them again. On occasion I'll make minor adjustments to my seat just to vary my body's position on a long drive, but never enough to need to readjust the side mirrors. However, if you did, every time you adjust the seat, the menu that asks if you'd like you save the seat position also offers you the ability to adjust your mirrors and/or steering wheel with a single tap (i.e. without having to enter the Car menu). That's a recent software update (another Tesla advantage) so may not have been present on your rental.

The keycard? Yeah, it was a pain when I rented. Trust me, once it's paired with your phone, things are much, much better. Now my only problem is that three times in my first two weeks, I've forgotten to bring my keys to the office. Good thing my staff arrives and unlocks the front door before I arrive most days!

Surround view for parking: who needs that old-school tech when you've got Autopark? Even without Autopark, you can adjust the side mirrors to angle downwards when in reverse to judge your distance from the curb, and with that giant, high resolution backup camera, there's simply no need for the surround cameras. I've got them on my Highlander and they're no comparison to having my right side mirror angled downward and the Tesla's backup camera.

Your self assessment of being a tough, pragmatic customer who doesn't sugar coat things is exactly the impression if gotten from you here. That makes it doubly encouraging to hear the enthusiasm for the Model 3 from your rental. I too am so glad I rented as it gave me a much better feel for what I was getting into, even though I own a Volt and have prior experience with the Model S.

 

[chronopc]

You may be right in theory and in terms of the safest approach; but in practice, I think many people (myself included) adjust their mirrors on the fly. That's in part because I notice when I'm actually driving whether something isn't quite right with the mirrors and it's easiest to adjust against what I'm looking at rather than pull over; adjust; pull back into traffic; notice it's not quite right; rinse; repeat.

Alan

I adjust my Model 3 mirrors on the fly. I got used to the touch screen pretty quickly so I don't really noticed too much of a difference. Instead of hitting a switch on the door it's a couple of taps on the screen. I enjoy using the scroll wheels to adjust the mirrors better than a button on a door.

 

[DanH]

I would still prefer a few more dedicated controls in the 3 for things like side mirrors, steering wheel position, and some dedicated buttons on the steering wheel for media, voice control and such.

The 4 series has much less headroom in the back than the Tesla, the 3 series bmw size-wise is a better comparison I believe.

In my old car, I adjusted my mirrors maybe once or twice a year. As for the steering wheel, I adjusted it once when I first drove it off the dealership. I understand each has his/her own preference. I’m just glad Tesla went with the current design.

I used to look for reasons not to drive. In 12 years, I accumulated about 70k miles only (mainly because I work from home). Now with the 3, I’m looking for places to drive to. The speedometer is already close to 2k with only about 5 weeks of ownership.

For me, my main concern is repair cost after 4 years. I hope they’ll offer extended warranty.

 

[kbM3]

I finally got the full Tesla Model 3 experience by way of a Turo rental. For anyone in the greater Denver area, I simply can't recommend this method enough for getting enough time behind the wheel to make a decision on such a big purchase. PM me if you want contact details and I'll provide them.

My family and I got to enjoy an entire day with the Tesla Model 3 and I got to basically back to back compare it in pretty much every aspect with my current car, a 2016 BMW 340xi.

When it comes to driver enjoyment, the Tesla exceeds the BMW in every way. Munich has to be scared right now, and understandably. The Tesla (other than from a full stop) accelerates much faster than the BMW, it handles better, it keeps the driver more engaged, and it is simply much more fun to drive.

The car is also simply gorgeous. A friend thought I had purchased a Porsche. I thought the limited rear visibility would bother me, but it did not. The backup camera works pretty well in most situations and I had no trouble fitting the car in my garage even though it's a bit wider than my current ride and the mirrors don't fold as tight to the body.

My 3 year old son just loved the view from the back seat with the huge pano roof. I would glance back at him and he was always looking all around at stuff he's never gotten to look at from any other car. At the end of the trip he kept going on and on about how much he likes the Tesla and kept asking "dad, when are you getting YOUR Tesla?"

My wife also did a complete turn around. She went from being very skeptical of Tesla build quality, auto pilot safety, etc., to being completely sold on the car by the end of our time with it.

Coolest moment of the trip was driving into the small town of Morrison and having a couple of local Morrison cops ask me to roll the window down so they could complement the "cool car" and then giving my 3 year old son a junior police badge.

Yours truly is a pragmatic tough customer. I don't sugar coat things and the only mission I'm on is to get the best bang for my buck. I've driven some pretty nice cars (and motorcycles) over the last 20 years, so my standards are quite high.

There are some areas where the BMW exceeds the Tesla, but they aren't as many as I anticipated.

1. The BMW has better seats, with more adjustments.
2. The BMW has a better interior, with much nicer materials. My wife liked the modern design of the Tesla quite a lot but did concede that the materials didn't seem appropriate for a $50K+ car that was supposed to have "premium" interior upgrades.
3. The BMW has an infotainment system that better integrates with my phone (shows text messages on the screen for example)... newer models have Carplay.
4. The latest BMW models have inductive phone charging. For the life of me I can't understand why Tesla has opted to go with the plug in charging setup, which didn't work with either my wife or my phones when they were in their cases. Tesla really needs to remedy this ASAP.
5. The BMW has a few really superb "pet" features that I really like. One is surround view when parking which is perfect for parallel parking... I really wish Tesla would implement this using the cars cameras if such a thing is possible. Another one is the BMW has a comfort access feature that works much better than the Tesla including trunk access that is much better. The trunk will automatically open if you have the key and swipe your foot under the rear bumper... perfect for when your arms are loaded with packages or groceries.

My biggest gripe with the Tesla after our trip was the key card. It is horrible. I realize I wouldn't normally have to interact with the car this way, but how horrible for anyone who will let others drive their car regularly. I really hope Tesla contemplates adding a better method of access that doesn't rely on a smart phone.

So, the Tesla is not perfect, but it's just too fun to drive.. and the thrill of pulling into a supercharger stall and putting 100 miles of range back on the car in about 20 minutes. Wow. I can't even imagine what this will be like when next level superchargers arrive and this time gets even shorter.

Now this March 31st pre-order just has to wait for the invite to configure a dual motor car.

voip-ninja, Your review is more interesting to me than many others because I have noticed that you are skeptical of many things Tesla and you've been "here" a long time. Nicely done.

I’m literally stunned that someone as tough as you on Tesla has written such a complimentary post about the Model 3. It appears my impression of you was in error.

Hope you enjoy your car when you receive it. Mine should come soon, and your review has made me more excited than most, because of how critical you’ve often been.

Thanks for posting

 

[TT97]

As for the steering wheel, I adjusted it once when I first drove it off the dealership.

Funny, on my old cars I adjusted the steering once so I would have the best view of the dashboard. As the 3 doesn't have a dashboard, I have actually been trying multiple positions with the steering wheel as I can now focus on comfort and not visibility of the dashboard.

 

[brkaus]

I’ve been waiting for AWD to rent a model 3. Think I’ll go ahead and just do it.

 

[SOULPEDL]

I think I sold another one in about 2 min. My buddy just sat in it last night, no test drive. Then he said "That's it, I've gotta get one." He's an IT guy and probably just got seduced by the Display and Stereo. He knew about the car, but seeing someone he knows that has one just made him drool on the spot. He regretted not joining me in line 2016.

This makes about 10 so far (only wish I could get credits from Tesla). But for me, it's reassuring that this car demand won't let up once they get out there in numbers. I hate my other vehicles now, like driving on slinkies compared to the tightness of the M3.

If you haven't already, not too late to invest in the company as well. I've already heard the bearish speculation that next year will be challenging selling them for $35K, but there's just way too much going on with Tesla for that to matter. And I couldn't imagine having this car without options. The price creep will catch at least half of the market on a mission to get one. I bet very few only get the base version. And when AP finally works well, Software upgrades will continue growing the company.

Folks, it's already beating top competitors for total sales in this class. Yes, Germans are very much afraid I would presume.

 

[J X 3]

On inductive charging maybe it's better not to add it as it's really contact based charging and might not have much of a future. Granted, in 10 years, we aren't gonna use phones to begin with. Wireless charging at a distance is somewhat arriving now and might replace the existing tech. They could add an optional plate or I suppose a 3rd party can.
About surround view, the ultrasound sensors should be enough but maybe they just want folks to leave the car park itself and not waste time with this.
Opening the trunk, IMEC is trying to push a Bluetooth feature that can locate the device with a 30cm accuracy, so maybe that could work in the future.
Adding Carplay and Android Auto doesn't make business sense for them and it's not all that safe either so better to go into autonomous mode (when it becomes available) and check phone.

 

[seattlite2004]

@voip-ninja ... so which model you gonna get? 35K, 49K, 54K or the 78K version?

 

[voip-ninja]

Someone in this thread asked for VIN series of the car I rented. It was VIN 13xxx so I believe it had the new suspension but I know it had the older seats as the owner pointed that out to me.

The car was black and fit and finish was decent but not up to German luxe standards. Particularly I noticed that there were some wavy areas around the door seals and the seals themselves seemed thinner and worse looking than what I am used to.

I can however live with all that.

 

[voip-ninja]

@voip-ninja ... so which model you gonna get? 35K, 49K, 54K or the 78K version?

$59K version. Well, 60K with delivery charge.

 

[voip-ninja]

I don't have my 3 yet, but have sat in one at the local Tesla store. Compared to my 340 I've felt these parts felt cheap:

1. Steering wheel and steering wheel controls
2. Logo on the wheel
3. Dashboard and center console materials
4. Seating and seating controls
5. Door handles
6. All the trim. The coverings on the seat controls. Plastic trim in the trunk. The seat backings, etc.

All that being said... I can't wait to get my 3.

I agree with all of this. I also had to stop my wife and a friend who rode with me from grabbing the emergency door release as the positioning of the actual release is not ideal. Emergency release should be placed somewhere it can be easily gotten to without being an immediate grab point for people opening the door.